Author: Simone Wilson

Uglesich’s had been a New Orleans lunchtime institution for more than 80 years when it closed in 2005. Uglesich’s founder Sam Uglesich grew up off the coast of Croatia and after arriving in New Orleans, he did what felt natural: He opened a restaurant that specialized in local seafood. The modest restaurant served lunch from 10:30 a.m. until the last diner was fed, and sometimes that meant until sunset.

Sam’s son, Anthony, and Anthony’s wife, Gail, took over the restaurant. Although Anthony carried on the Uglesich tradition, neither of his two children, John and Donna, wanted to take on the challenge.

John, however, did write two Uglesich’s cookbooks, and the second, Cooking With the Uglesiches, was released earlier this year. In the book, John shares his parents’ lives through recipes, anecdotes, and photos.

John Uglesich will be at Davis-Kidd Booksellers for a booksigning on Thursday, September 18th, at 6 p.m., and Brontë Bistro will offer a four-course dinner, with each course featuring a recipe from Cooking With the Uglesiches. The dinner begins at 7 p.m. and costs $40 per person plus tax and gratuity. For reservations, call 374-0881.

Davis-Kidd Booksellers, 387 Perkins Ext. (683-9801)

On October 2nd at 6 p.m., The Peabody will host a master-distiller dinner and

whiskey tasting with Jack Daniel’s new master distiller Jeff Arnett.

Originally from Jackson, Tennessee, Arnett is only the seventh master distiller in the 142-year history of Jack Daniel’s. The master distiller typically oversees the entire whiskey-making process.

The five-course dinner of Jack Daniel’s-infused recipes and the three-course whiskey tasting led by Arnett at Chez Philippe begins at 6 p.m. Lined up for the whiskey tasting are: Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 Black Label, Gentleman Jack Rare Tennessee Whiskey, and Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel. The dinner begins with lobster bisque and a lobster-braised fennel salad with Jack Daniel’s syrup, followed by braised Newman Farm pork belly, Scottish salmon with spicy crab crust, Jack Daniel’s-brined beef tenderloin, and pineapple crème brûlée.

Cost for the dinner is $99 per person, plus tax and gratuity. For reservations, call 529-4183.

The Peabody, 149 Union (529-4000)

Every September, the Dixon Gallery & Garden’s Terrace Café opens for lunch for just a few days. It’s that time again. From September 23rd to 26th and September 30th to October 3rd, the Terrace Café will serve lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. The $20 lunch includes tableside modeling and admission to the Dixon. For reservations, call 761-5250 or 312-1254. Advance reservations and payment are required. Visit dixon.org to see the lunch menu.

Also at the Dixon every Wednesday, visitors can enjoy a “lunch and learn.” On September 17th, the subject will be Hugo and Margaret Dixon, their home, and their legacy. On September 24th, Ernestine Jenkins, professor of art history at the University of Memphis, will explore the history of early African-American photographers in Memphis, focusing on the Hooks Brothers, who operated a studio in Memphis from 1906 until the 1970s.

Dixon Gallery and Gardens, 4339 Park (761-5250)

The annual Zoo Rendezvous,— celebrating its 25th anniversary on Saturday, September 13th, from 7 to 10:30 p.m. — is the zoo’s biggest fund-raiser. The event offers food from more than 70 restaurants and bars, and live entertainment will be provided by the Dempseys, the Venus Mission, Kathryn Stallins Band, and Garry Goin & G3. Tickets are $200 per person; partnerships begin at $750.

Memphis Zoo, 2000 Prentiss Place (333-6500)

The Majestic Grille takes its mission to support Memphis arts organizations seriously and is now offering a $50 gift certificate for the restaurant to the Orpheum’s season subscribers. The offer is good until September 29th and can be redeemed at any Orpheum ticket counter by mentioning the code “Majestic Grille.”

The Majestic Grille also offers a three-course pre-theater menu for just under $25.

Majestic Grille, 145 S. Main (522-8555)

Ciao Bella, in the former Lulu Grille location on Erin Drive, is now offering a late-night menu on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, when it stays open until midnight. Sirloin sliders, Spiro’s gyro, gourmet mini pizzas, and the “Abe Froman,” a spicy Italian sausage served on a French roll, are a few of the menu items, all of which are priced under $9.

Ciao Bella is an Italian and Greek family affair. Judd Tashie, the restaurant’s co-owner, says Mediterranean best describes his family’s roots and style. This heritage will be reflected again in Tashie’s latest venture. With his dad, Paul, and cousin, David, Tashie is planning to open Carmela’s Little Italy in the space adjacent to Ciao Bella in October.

Carmela’s, a specialty food store and deli named after Tashie’s grandmother, will carry Greek and Italian items, such as olive oil, pasta, cheeses, and meats. The store also will offer a variety of prepared foods as well as simple lunch fare and sandwiches from the deli.

“We want to be a gourmet store but also offer our customers Ciao Bella food that they can take home and heat up for a family dinner,” Tashie explains.

For more information about Carmela’s Little Italy, visit ciaobellamemphis.com.

Ciao Bella, 565 Erin Drive (205-2500)

Staff Outings

Paul Gerald, a former Flyer staffer who now calls Portland, Oregon, his home, believes the essence of a place can be discovered if you know “how and where it eats breakfast.”

When Gerald regularly wrote travel features for the Flyer, he often wrote about the meals he ate to tell stories about the places and people he visited.

“I like breakfast, and that’s why some of those stories center around that first meal of the day,” Gerald says.

When eating breakfast at Beaterville Café in Portland one morning, Gerald realized he hadn’t investigated his new home yet. And because the options in Portland are endless, Gerald decided to write a book rather than a newspaper article.

For the project, Gerald ate about 200 breakfasts at more than 100 restaurants. His self-published book, Breakfast in Bridgetown (Bacon and Eggs Press), will be available this week from his website, breakfastinbridgetown.com. The book includes descriptions, anecdotes, and the basic facts — addresses, phone numbers, hours of operation — of 95 breakfast places in Portland.

“I’m not a food critic, and I don’t rate the restaurants in my book,” Gerald says. “There are two types of breakfasts as far as I’m concerned: memorable and non-memorable.” (He did, for the record, find out which coffee each restaurant serves, an important stat for Portlanders.)

breakfastinbridgetown.com

Other Flyer folks revealing their foodie stripes: freelance photographer Justin Fox Burks, staff writer Bianca Phillips, and wine columnist Michael Hughes.

Chubby Vegetarian is an online record of Burks’ artful vegetarian dishes. The site includes photographs and recipes as well as Burks’ reflections on tertiary topics, such as the perfect pizza, shopping at Winchester Farmers Market, and what to do with stolen apples. If you are a vegetarian who needs new meal ideas or a newbie who doesn’t know how to cook without meat, check out Burks’ blog for inspiration.

chubbyvegetarian.blogspot.com

In her blog Vegan Crunk, Bianca Phillips shares the good and the not-so-good sides of being a vegan, plus vegan-centric recipes and links. Growing up in the Mississippi Delta on “cornbread, butter beans, collard greens, and Paula Deen,” Phillips is on a mission of veganizing Southern and soul-food staples and eventually collecting her recipes in a cookbook. Reading her blog, you’ll discover that vegan fare can be exciting and delicious. Who can resist caramelized fig spread on an “everything” bagel?

vegancrunk.blogspot.com

In Midtown Stomp, Michael Hughes muses about the aroma of dried apricots and pineapples, peaches and white pepper, simple foods, local wine lists, and wine and food pairings. Hughes also reveals the treasures of his “cellar” and explores food and wine during dinners at home and at local and out-of-town restaurants. Don’t know what wine to have with dinner tonight? Check out this site, and you’ll be sure to come away with a few ideas.

midtownstomp.blogspot.com

When Whole Foods Market took over Wild Oats earlier this year, local customers wondered what the change would mean for the Memphis location. Among the slow but steady modifications at the store are a more substantial seafood department, a larger selection of prepared foods, a reorganized produce department, a number of new products, and the addition of Whole Foods’ private-label brand, 365. A grand opening for the revamped store, which then will change its name to Whole Foods, is planned for October.

Although renovations and construction are still under way, Whole Foods has taken on a project that’s very important to the company’s overall philosophy: supporting local farmers, food vendors, and artisans by selling their products in the store. (“Local” in Whole Foods’ terms means that produce, for example, has traveled less than seven hours by car or truck from the farm to the store.)

Late last month, Whole Foods invited local vendors to a low-key fair held at the Memphis Botanic Garden. The turnout was small, but Emily Broad, associate marketing coordinator for the company’s Southern region, says that the Memphis store is still in transition and that the fair was only the first step toward incorporating more local products. A larger event, which will include workshops and a “Whole Foods 101” for current local vendors as well as prospects, is planned for the fall.

Elia Singer of Ophelia Snodgrass Apothecary is excited about the opportunity to sell her handmade and plant-based skin-care products through Whole Foods.

“When I lived in Los Angeles, I sold my products to some of the smaller local health-food stores, but I didn’t feel quite ready to approach the large national and international stores,” Singer says. “It was somewhat intimidating, but I’m ready now. This seems like the perfect opportunity.”

Some of Singer’s products, such as soaps and soy-based candles, will be sold at the Poplar store in the coming month.

At the Botanic Garden, Broad met with each potential vendor, asking questions about the products, packaging, marketing, price point, and the vendor’s interest in expanding into the regional market. The company’s Southern region currently has 18 Whole Foods Markets. Depending on the product, it’s possible for local vendors to expand regionally and even nationally.

“Most local vendors are savvy entrepreneurs,” Broad says. “They have done their homework, they know their niche, and they have a pretty good idea what products we are interested in.”

That means just about any local product that fits the company’s profile — even prepared foods — especially if they fill a void that the store can’t fill.

“If we don’t have an in-house raw or vegan chef, we would definitely be interested in including those prepared foods from a local vendor,” Broad says, referring to her meeting with a local vegan chef.

Although locally produced, packaged items are a great addition to the store, Broad acknowledges that locally grown fruits and vegetables are the heart and soul of the program.

“We really want to include more produce from local farmers and hope that we get approached about this option by more farmers in the area,” Broad says.

The decision on which products actually make it onto shelves is made at the store level.

“Whole Foods empowers its individual stores and regional buyers to seek out the local products and vendors,” Broad says.

In addition to being committed to the best products available while being environmentally conscious, Whole Foods also values the relationship customers may have with local vendors.

“Our customer may already know the products from a certain vendor because they have bought them at the farmers market before, which means they have a personal connection to the place and the person.”

Transparency is another driving force in Whole Foods’ “locally grown” efforts.

“Our customers won’t just see signs throughout the store that say ‘local’ but signs that include short profiles and, when possible, photos of the local vendors,” Broad says. “That’s how they can truly connect to the food they’ll prepare for dinner that night.”

For more information about Whole Foods’ locally grown program, call Liza Burke at the Memphis store at 685-2293 or 761-9730 or visit wholefoods.com.

Wild Oats, 5022 Poplar (682-1090)

Howard Montgomery Jr. and the late Willie Dean Durham Jr. hit it off the first time they met.

“We just clicked. We had a lot of things in common, [even] our middle name,” says Montgomery, owner of the recently opened Big Ono Bake Shops on Front Street.

Montgomery, who had come to Memphis from Baltimore, met Durham, a native Memphian and artist, and eventually they found themselves in Hawaii.

“I went to Hawaii to help Willie with a project and thought it would be a working vacation,” Montgomery remembers. “Once I got there, I called my friends in Memphis and told them to sell my stuff, because I didn’t plan on coming back.”

The two stayed in Hawaii for more than a decade, opening two Hawaiian Big Ono Bake Shops. “Ono” means delicious in Hawaiian, though the shops were named after Durham and Montgomery as well. “We were both pretty big guys, so we couldn’t just name it the Ono Bake Shops but had to go with Big Ono Bake Shops,” Montgomery says with a smile.

Durham, who had moved back to Memphis to look after his mother, died unexpectedly in 2006.

“We had thought about opening a Hawaiian bakery in Memphis but were still in the talking stage when Willie died,” Montgomery says.

After moving back to the Bluff City, Montgomery decided to go through with plans for the bake shop.

“That’s what Willie would have wanted, and there’s really no better way to remember him,” Montgomery says.

He closed the two locations in Hawaii and opened the Memphis Big Ono at the beginning of June with partner and co-owner Jody Lees. At the store, customers can read about Durham and see his artwork and designs.

The shop’s staples are butter rolls, hula bread, and volcano loaves, made with slightly sweet dough based on a Polynesian recipe. There are also cinnamon, raspberry, and apple spice rolls and a variety of scones.

Montgomery starts his day at the bakery at 3 a.m. to have the first batch of warm bread ready for his 6 o’clock customers. Throughout the day, freshly baked loaves and rolls come out of the oven depending on demand.

“We don’t bake huge batches, because we want our customers to get the freshest bread possible,” Montgomery says.

But it’s not all bread and rolls at Big Ono. Ben Dickey is the bakery’s pastry chef, responsible for treats such as tropical cheesecake, bread pudding, and chocolate tarts. Montgomery also plans to expand the menu so that he can provide simple sandwiches for the lunch crowd.

“Our bread makes excellent toast and is great for barbecue sandwiches,” Montgomery says. “Hawaiians eat a lot of pork, and I often thought about bringing some of that Memphis flavor to the island,” Montgomery says. Now he’s brought some island flavor to Memphis.

Big Ono is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Big Ono Bake Shops, 116 S. Front

(522-8999)

For a tasting of wines from the Côtes du Ventoux, located in the southeast of the Rhône Valley, visit Encore‘s wine and small-plates tasting on Wednesday, August 6th, at 6:30 p.m. Drew Wooten of Star Distributors will lead the three-course tasting. The small plates are pissaladiere paired with In Fine Rose (2007), crab flan paired with In Fine Blanc (2006), and panzanella salad paired with In Fine Rouge (2006).

Cost for the tasting is $25 per person. Reservations are required.

Encore, 150 Peabody Place (528-1415)

At Viking Cooking School, you can dive into the world of cheese and wine during a tasting class on Monday, August 4th. On the agenda: triple cream cheeses paired with sparkling wines and the classic combination of red wines with blue cheeses. Cost for the class, which is offered from 6:30 to 9 p.m., is $89.

On Monday, August 11th, the school starts another one of its popular Essential Wine series. The six classes cover the basics of wine tasting and explore white and red wines from around the world as well as sparkling and dessert wines. During each session, participants will taste eight wines and enjoy a food-and-wine pairing. Cost for a single class is $79 and $399 for the series.

To register, visit vikingcookingschool.com or call the school.

Viking Cooking School, 1215 Ridgeway (578-5822)

His name is Tim Keith, but his customers know him as “The Produce Man.”

Keith sells the produce from area farms at various stops around town.

“I’ve been doing this with my dad since I was little,” Keith says. “When I was old enough to go out on my own, I would load the trailer and make stops at the beauty shops on Summer and Poplar.”

Doing good business at the hair salons on Thursdays and Fridays, Keith was looking for delivery opportunities for the beginning of the week. So he started delivering to the high-rises on Highland on Tuesday and Wednesday, which he still does.

When one of his longtime customers asked if he would consider setting up shop at her church, Keith made Colonial Park United Methodist Church on Park one of his regular stops.

“I’ve been coming here every Thursday morning for 10 years — at first from 9 to 10 a.m., but now an hour earlier. Today, people have already been waiting for me. When I leave here, I’ll have a few more beauty-shop stops, and then my trailer will be empty,” Keith says, pointing at his wares and helping a steady stream of customers.

Watermelon and cantaloupe, peaches, corn, okra, tomatoes, squash, peas, and potatoes are on his trailer today. Lady peas? No, that was last week, and he doesn’t know what will be available next week. It all depends on what the farmers pick. No promises on the peas.

“What’s on my trailer was picked by the farmers last night. I don’t grow any of it,” Keith says.

A recent trend in the U.S., Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, is a group of people who “pledge support” to a farm by subscribing to a weekly package of the farm’s produce. Two area farms currently offer CSAs: Arkansas-based Whitton Flower & Produce Company and Downing Hollow Farm in Olive Hill, Tennessee.

“We don’t always sell everything that we bring to the market, and by participating in the CSA, people help us keep the waste to a minimum,” says Keith Forrester of Whitton Flower & Produce.

“Farmer’s choice” is one of the key components of CSA. The customer doesn’t get to choose what’s in the box. If one week the farmer has an abundance of corn but is short on tomatoes, customers’ CSA shares will reflect that. CSA participants also need to understand that to truly support the farm means that some weeks’ offerings may be less than favorable or a skimpy share due to poor harvests, droughts, or pests.

Both farms have no more summer CSA shares available but may be able to take on additional supporters for the next season.

Downing Hollow Farm offers a 12-week CSA for $100 per month. Participants pick up their share near the University of Memphis every Friday. For more information and to sign up, visit downinghollowfarm.com.

Whitton Flower & Produce (whittonflowerandproduce.com) offers 10-week packages for $250 for a full share or $125 for a half-share. In Memphis, shares can be picked up on Wednesdays at the Memphis Botanic Garden’s market or on Saturdays at the Memphis Farmers Market.

Miss Cordelia’s takes being a neighborhood grocery store seriously. The Harbor Town store and deli provides customers with everyday grocery items, produce, meats, and prepared foods, as well as a large range of local products.

“We put emphasis on being a small neighborhood market and try to promote local products wherever we can,” says Tony Owen, Miss Cordelia’s general manager.

In addition to Dinstuhl’s candy and coffee from Ugly Mug and McCarter coffee companies, Miss Cordelia’s carries Neola Farms beef, Lil’ Muddy Buddy dog biscuits, honey by Robert Hodum out of Collierville, Delta Grind grits and cornmeal, Delta Pecan Orchard’s pecans and pecan candies, and LaMont’s barbecue sauce and marinade from Mississippi. Customers will also find Hernando-based Millstone Gardens’ full line of fresh herbs, such as basil, cilantro, spearmint, French tarragon, and Italian parsley and varying produce from local farmers.

“We want to offer our customers the best products and carry items that they may find at the local farmers markets but probably not in the traditional supermarkets,” Owen says. “I am always interested in adding more local products to the store.”

Miss Cordelia’s, 737 Harbor Bend (526-4772)

Food advocate Mark Winne will be at Davis-Kidd Booksellers on Monday, July 21st, at 6 p.m. to read from and sign his first book, Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty.

Winne is the former executive director of the Hartford Food System (HFS), a Connecticut-based nonprofit organization focused on fighting hunger and improving nutrition. While at HFS, Winne implemented community self-help food projects for the city’s lower-income and elderly residents. He also worked on the development of commercial food businesses, an area farmers market, a community-supported farm and neighborhood grocery store, a food bank, and the Connecticut’s Farmers’ Market nutrition program.

The book covers the “story of how we get our food,” examining in particular the disparity between the rich and the poor when it comes to nutrition. Winne’s vision for closing the “food gap” is a partnership between family farms and impoverished communities.

Also upcoming at Davis-Kidd is its Corks & Courses dinner on Thursday, July 17th, at 7 p.m. in Brontë Bistro. This month’s four-course dinner and wine tasting features recipes from Tennessee Hometown Cookbook. Dishes include tomato gazpacho, edamame mixed salad, baked citrus pork tenderloin, and country sugar cream pie. Cost for the dinner is $40 per person plus tax and gratuity.

Davis-Kidd Booksellers, 387 Perkins Extended (683-9801)

It’s all about vodka on Wednesday, July 23rd, at 7 p.m., during the Grove Grill’s Hangar One Dinner. Hangar One is distilled at the old Alameda Naval Air Station on San Francisco Bay and is a blend of grain neutral spirit and a vodka that’s made from viognier wine. Viognier is an old varietal grape used for white wine and relatively new to California.

Jeff Dunham, chef/owner of the Grove Grill, will showcase all of Hangar One’s vodkas during this five-course dinner. The menu will start off with hors d’oeuvres and a Cosmopolitan made with Hangar One’s Mandarin Blossom vodka and will be followed by Soljanka, a traditional Russian soup, to be paired with a shot of Hangar’s straight vodka. Wasabi-crusted halibut will be accompanied by the lemony Buddah’s Hand Citron, and the roast medallion of veal tenderloin with coconut shrimp will be matched with Hangar’s Kaffir lime vodka. Finally, for dessert, Fraser River Raspberry vodka will be served with raspberry icebox pie.

Josh Hammond of Buster’s Liquor and Oscar Vergos of Star Distributors will be at the dinner to answer questions and provide more information about Hangar One. Cost for the dinner is $65 plus tax and gratuity.

Grove Grill, 4550 Poplar (818-9951)

Boscos’ Brew Master’s Beer Dinner on Tuesday, July 22nd, offers a special treat for beer lovers. Every dish of the five-course menu will be paired with one of Boscos’ handcrafted beers. Cost for the dinner, which starts at 6:45 p.m., is $50 per person plus tax and gratuity. Reservations are required.

Boscos Squared, 2120 Madison

(432-2222)

If you can’t wait that long for a cold brew, the University of Memphis is offering a “Great Brews” class through its professional and continuing education program on Thursday, July 17th, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Umai.

Steve Barzizza of Southwestern Distributing will lead the two-hour class. Participants will sample beers from around the globe and learn about American craft-brewing history and its effect on the brewing scene. Cost for the session, which includes beers and finger food, is $59 per person. To register, visit http://umce.memphis.edu/.

Umai, 2015 Madison (405-4241)